West Lafayette may peel banana mural from rental house

Logo may have limited shelf life

9:29 AM,
May 22, 2013

House featuring a large banana painted on its exterior Tuesday, May 21, 2013, at the northeast corner of Wood Street and Chauncey Avenue in West Lafayette. West Lafayette officials are scratching their heads, trying to figure out whether a gigantic banana painted on the side of a West Lafayette rental property is a sign, or art. If a sign, should the owner have sought a sign variance before proceeding, and will the 'sign' have to be painted over?

Written by

Justin L. Mack
jmack@jconline.com

Granite Management's plans to bring a banana-themed mural to Chauncey Hill may have a few brown spots.

Word of the giant banana being painted on the side of the Granite rental property at 138 S. Chauncey Ave. quickly became a hot topic among residents when work began on the project last week.

But West Lafayetteofficials say the image, which is used as a logo in the company's promotional materials, falls under the category of a sign in the Tippecanoe County Unified Zoning Ordinance. That means hours of work already put into the project may be for naught if requirements to allow the banana to stay ...